Advertise
With Us

Click here to request more information.
OC Family reaches:

• Active & educated parents
• Growing families
• And more...

New Films & DVDs

New family films and DVD releases By David DicksteinPublished: February, 2009

Print This Article Email This Article RSS Subscribe

NEW BIG-SCREEN FEATURES ‘Coraline’ Opens Feb. 6, rated PG The first stop-motion animation feature originally filmed in 3-D follows a girl who is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door and discovers an alternate version of her life on the other side. Dakota Fanning voices the title character, who winds up needing to save her family when this seemingly perfect world she entered turns treacherous. Mom is voiced by Teri Hatcher. ‘Free Style’ Opens Feb. 6, rated PG Corbin Bleu of “High School Musical” comes out from Zac Efron’s shadow to make his starring feature debut as a motocross biker determined to win a spot on the Grand National racing team without sacrificing the bonds of family and friends. Uh, wasn’t that the storyline of all three “HSM” movies? Now having done basketball, jump rope and biking movies, maybe it’s time for Bleu to move on from sports. At least his latest isn’t a Disney film. That’s showing some growth. ‘Jonas Brothers: the 3D Concert Experience’ Opens Feb. 27, rated PG Despite being a product of the Disney Marketing Machine, the Jonas Brothers are actually the real deal and actually quite good. The hit pop group gets similar treatment as Miley Cyrus did last year with her “Best of Both Worlds” concert film, only the Jonas Brothers’ feature is being shown in 3-D. Local fans should look for themselves, as portions are from the July 12 and 13 concerts at the Honda Center in Anaheim. NEW DVDs ‘The Express’ Ages 11 to 18, now available, Rated PG The sports flick doesn’t score a touchdown, but the real-life story of Ernie Davis, the first black Heisman Trophy winner, still inspires. Dennis Quaid is better than the uneven material as the coach to Davis (Rob Brown), who overcame financial and racial obstacles to become a star running back for Syracuse. No happy ending here if you know Davis’ tragic story. Grade: B- ‘Jammin’ with the Doodlebops’ Ages 3-6, Feb. 3, not rated Preschoolers will have no problem singing and dancing with this psychedelic pop band from Canada, whose show airs on Playhouse Disney here. The DVD includes sing-a-longs, dance-a-longs, knock-knock jokes and a CD with four songs from the show. Grade: A- ‘The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest: Season 1, Volume 1’ Ages 6-11, Feb. 17, not rated The Saturday morning cartoon some of us parents grew up with is a classic, and, although its revival in 1996 bombed like one of Hadji’s jokes, some of the episodes aren’t half bad. Drawn from science and detective-style logic, the whiz-bang mini-mysteries should definitely appeal to the Xbox generation. This collection includes the first 13 of 52 episodes that originally aired on  the Cartoon Network, TBS and TNT. Grade: B-   David Dickstein is a contributing writer.

SEARCH THE SITE